Fruit and vegetables

Try to include a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet and make the most of seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Aim to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.

What is a portion?

All fresh, frozen, canned, dried and juiced fruits are naturally gluten-freeWhen a food has less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten so it is safe for people with coeliac disease to eat. and count towards your five a day. A portion of fruit or vegetables can be:

• one medium fruit, such as an apple, a banana
• two small fruits such as plums
• a small handful of very small fruit, such as grapes
• a cereal bowl of salad
• three heaped tablespoons of any type of vegetable, including pulses (peas, beans and lentils) and baked beans
• one small glass (150ml) of 100% fruit juice
• one heaped tablespoon of dried fruit.

Fruit juice only counts as one portion no matter how much you drink during the day.

Tips to maximise your fruit and vegetable intake

• serve baked beans with a jacket potato / glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. -free toast
• provide extra salad and serve vegetables with meals
• use extra vegetables on gluten-free pizza
• use more pulses (peas, beans, lentils) in stews and soups
• add a chopped banana or a handful of berries to your bowl of cereal in the morning
• have a glass of fruit juice with your breakfast, lunch or evening meal
• add a handful of dried fruit to yogurt for a mid morning snack or dessert.

Do I need to take a vitamin or mineral supplement?

When you are first diagnosed with coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. the lining of your gut will be damaged because of eating gluten. This can mean that you don’t absorb nutrients from food as well, and can lead to nutritional deficiencies such as iron deficiency anaemia.

Treatment with the gluten-free diet will heal your gut and improve the absorption of nutrients from food. Therefore, you might not need to take a multivitamin supplement.

Following a healthy balanced diet will help you get all the vitamins and minerals you need.

Research looking at whether people with coeliac disease get enough calcium, iron and B vitamins in their gluten-free diet found that specific nutritional deficiencies are not a big problem for people with coeliac disease who are following a strict gluten-free diet.